Newslinks for Sunday 27th March 2011

REMINDER: Applications for Assistant to the ConservativeHome Editors close at noon tomorrow

7pm ToryDiary: Vince Cable revives idea of higher property levies as way of restructuring UK tax system

6.30pm International: Anxiety over nuclear power contributes to defeat for Angela Merkel in state held by CDU for sixty years

5.45pm Andrew Lilico on Comment: Neither England nor Wales is a country, but the United Kingdom certainly is

3.30pm Local government: Labour links to UK Uncut

3.15pm WATCH: Clean up after TUC march day rioters cover Trafalgar Square lions and new Olympics clock with graffiti

Noon LeftWatch: Gallery celebrating Ed Miliband's "I, Too, Am A Giant Of History" speech

11.45am WATCH: Liam Fox says NATO - including Turkey - will assume responsibility for military operations in Libya

10am Matthew Elliott on Comment sets out the next phase of the No To AV campaign: One Person, One Vote

ToryDiary: Should the Coalition use more stories and less stats?

Dr Neil Hudson on Comment: Have the right lessons been learned from the Foot and Mouth outbreak of 2001?

Local government: How should Conservative councillors respond to Labour's cuts strategy?

WATCH:

• Sky reviews the violence against the police and property that spoilt yesterday's TUC march
• Is Libya more morally justified than Iraq? A five minute home-made video teases out the arguments, ridiculing the anti-Bush, pro-Obama Left.

Embarrassment for Labour leader as riots start as he speaks at cuts rally

"It was the timing that Labour's high command had been dreading. At the very moment their party leader began his speech at the anti-cuts rally in Hyde Park, anarchists wearing masks and waving red flags began attacking shops and banks in Oxford Street. For several minutes, live television pictures of the violence were accompanied by words from Ed Miliband." - The Sunday Telegraph

• "There were 84 reported injuries during the protests, including at least 31 police, with 11 officers requiring hospital treatment. The injuries were described as "relatively minor", including cuts and bruises, suspected whiplash and a possible broken collar bone." - Sunday Express
• Police make 214 arrests on TUC's day of 'peaceful' protest - BBC

David Davis attacks Ed Miliband's decision to liken TUC march to struggle for women's votes and against apartheid

"David Davis, the former Conservative leadership candidate, described Mr Miliband's comparison as an "extraordinary error of judgement". He added: "I suspect the brave people of the civil rights movement will be shocked to hear the Labour leader undertake such hyperbole as to compare a march like this to the sort of heroic acts they had to undertake to win fundamental rights."" - The Sunday Telegraph

> Yesterday's LeftWatch: Ed Miliband compares himself and other deficit deniers to Martin Luther King

Fraser Nelson: Why should private sector workers pay for the public sector?

"Two worlds collided yesterday. We have the public sector unions leading marches to demand that their pay, perks and pensions are protected. And who would pay for this? The 23 million workers in the private sector: facing rampant inflation, fall in real-terms pay and pensions shot to hell." - News of the World (£)

Brutal dictator who has lost the plot must go says Liam Fox

"Liam Fox launched a personal attack on the Libyan leader, describing him as a "brutal" dictator who had "lost the plot a long time ago". In his first newspaper interview since the start of the Libyan crisis, Dr Fox said that the bombing campaign would only end when "people could sleep safely in their beds and know they will not be targeted by a vicious regime"." - The Sunday Telegraph

Meanwhile "well-placed sources" are briefing against Dr Fox to the Mail on Sunday.

Chris Huhne positions himself to succeed Nick Clegg - The Sunday Telegraph

More Liberal Democrat news

• More assertive Liberal Democrats seek to torpedo £500pw benefits cap - Observer
• Clegg airbrushed out of Lib Dem leaflets for May's elections - News of the World (£)
• Lib Dems are angry at the way David Cameron is raising money for the ‘No’ campaign, which is then using it to attack Nick Clegg personally - James Forsyth in the Mail on Sunday
• Danny Alexander was author of tax raid on big oil companies - Titbit from Andrew Rawnsley's Observer column in which he he notes senior Tory respect for Ed Miliband
• MSP quits Liberal Democrats in protest at Westminster Coalition - Scotland on Sunday

Schools could get significant new powers over how they admit pupils in reforms - Sunday Telegraph

"The Camerons are planning to send their children to a new state academy sponsored by a Labour party donor. The school, Kensington Aldridge academy, is to be built near their old family home in west London. Using such a school will be seen as a strong statement of support for the programme started by Tony Blair and now endorsed by the coalition. The success of the government’s education record will be judged largely on the performance of academies." - The Sunday Times (£)

Interview with Lord Tebbit in which he bemoans Labour's failure on social mobility - Independent on Sunday

Lord Lawson's 'misleading' climate claims challenged by scientific adviser - Observer

Steve Hilton raised eyebrows by standing in for Cameron at a meeting of senior businessmen in his socks - Sunday Telegraph

Alex Salmond hopes opposition to nuclear power might save his SNP government

"Alex Salmond has unexpectedly waded into the row over the future of nuclear power following the crisis in earthquake-hit Japan, accusing Labour of being “obsessed” with the energy source. The First Minister predicted yesterday that, following the efforts to prevent a major catastrophe at the Fukushima plant that was hit by the disaster, the issue would become a defining one in the run up to the Holyrood election on May 5. mScottish Labour’s business manifesto, launched this week, re-opens the door to a new generation of nuclear power stations in Scotland. If elected, the party says it would overturn a ban on new power stations, to which the SNP is committed." - Sunday Herald

Osborne's NI/ income tax plans could derail fiscal devolution for Scotland - Scotland on Sunday

Janet Daley: Slashing taxes would make us all better off

"Almost no one in British political life would dare to suggest that slashing taxes, and the real economic freedom that might follow, could be a social good in itself... True, free market economics can be ferocious – requiring as it does courage, resourcefulness and stamina – but, given a chance, it delivers mass prosperity and self-determination on a scale unprecedented in human history." - Janet Daley in The Sunday Telegraph

The Cameroons started out as Thatcher’s children, but in practice the coalition operates to the left of Tony Blair - Martin Ivens in The Sunday Times (£)

The Observer identifies Small is Beautiful as the book tha`t helped form Cameron's worldview

"Investigations by the Observer's associate editor, Robert McCrum, have established that Cameron has long been an admirer of Schumacher, whose best-known work was a collection of essays and lectures, Small is Beautiful. McCrum finds extraordinary similarities between many of Cameron's favourite themes – from the need to break up state monoliths to his desire to foster a greater sense of social and personal responsibility – and Schumacher's thinking." - The Observer

Labour has left the NHS with a £60BILLION debt after building 103 hospitals on the never-never - The Sunday Telegraph |  News of the World (£)

Miliband's jokes about Clegg to 'Labour Gay Night' dinner

"The Labour leader’s speech was full of uncharacteristic jokes. ‘I hope you’ve all got your “Never kissed a Tory” T-shirt,’ he said. ‘There’s a sequel coming out, it’s called “Never had a Cleggover”. Nick Clegg said he’d slept with no more than 30 women. We’ve now got a problem with this T-shirt because he’s screwing the whole country.’" - Mail on Sunday

The seven months pregnant woman told to give up her British Airways seat... just so Gordon Brown could fly Club Class - Mail on Sunday

And finally... Samantha Cameron plans to hold street party in Downing Street for Royal Wedding

"Samantha Cameron has embraced the spirit of the royal wedding by applying for a licence to throw a street party in Downing Street. It raises the prospect of the nation’s most famous street being decked out in bunting and lined with trestle tables like thousands of roads up and down the country. Downing Street has refused to disclose who may be invited but it is thought that No 10 staff and their families will attend." - The Sunday Times (£)

Newslinks for Saturday 26th March 2011

5.30pm ToryDiary: David Cameron would like you to sit in the dark from 8.30pm tonight

5.15pm LeftWatch: Ed Miliband compares himself and other deficit deniers to Martin Luther King

4pm Jason Groves in International: Today's massacre of Labor in New South Wales represents the most devastating defeat in Australian political history

2.15pm WATCH:

• Cuts take size of state back to 2007, not the 1980s, says Francis Maude
• Ed Balls MP explains why he is supporting today's TUC march

11.15am International: Massive defeat for Australian Labor in New South Wales

ToryDiary: Opinion polls give comfort to Coalition on deficit reduction

LeftWatch: The Ten Commandments Of The Selfish Left

Local government: "Let the message go forth from this website, especially in areas with a Labour council seeking to claim credit for freezing the Council Tax: The Labour Party opposes the Council Tax freeze."

Ryan Henson on Comment: The Coalition is making progress amongst students in the university tuition fees debate

International: Canada heading for another minority Conservative government if early polls are accurate

WATCH: Andrew Lansley responds to rap attack on his NHS reforms

Redwood, Cash and Carswell lead backbench Tory anger at Portgual bailout - Daily Mail

"David Cameron declared Europe united this afternoon on the military campaign in Libya, the need to kick-start economies, and on stress tests for all nuclear plants by the end of the year." - Independent/ PA

Britain's annual contribution to the European Union is set to soar to just under £9billion by 2015 - Express

> Bill Cash MP on ConservativeHome yesterday: Why does Robert Peston think that the British contribution to the potential Portuguese bailout will be “close to zero”?

Ken Clarke warns that the Libyan leader could stage a Lockerbie-style attack in revenge for Britain's role in enforcement of No Fly Zone - Guardian

• William Hague: "If the Gaddafi regime think the international will and unity on this is faltering in any way, they are in for quite a surprise" - BBC
• Only when Colonel Gaddafi is out of the way can the country be put back together - Telegraph leader
• "The nightmare for Cameron, Sarkozy and Obama is that Gaddafi may win this thing." - Melanie Phillips
• Matthew Parris in The Times (£): The right thing to do isn’t always the best thing
• France and Britain – a new special relationship - Jean-Pierre Chevènement for The Guardian

Nick Clegg wins £70m extra for access fund to ease abolition of EMA - Independent

"The backlog of repairs needed by English schools would require £8.5bn to fix, according to recent internal civil service estimates seen by the Financial Times (£)."

National Audit Office issues warning about nature of spending cuts

“Because of the short time scale, there is a risk that much of the cost reduction [in the current financial year] will result from policy decisions to withdraw funding and reduce budgets or other short-term measures, rather than [through] structured and sustainable cost reduction.” - FT (£)

Nigel Lawson warns George Osborne against merging income tax and NI

In an article for The Times (£) the former Chancellor also criticises George Osborne's green agenda: "Raising the cost of energy to British business — of which the latest example was his announcement that “today we become the first country in the world to introduce a carbon price floor for the power sector” — is nothing less than an anti-growth strategy."

Gas companies have warned they will have to curtail investment as a result of the Budget windfall tax

The Times (£) reveals how the windfall tax was a last minute operation: "The Office for Budget Responsibility confirmed last night that the centrepiece of Mr Osborne’s keynote speech was only put before it at the last moment, too late for the watchdog to scrutinise the plans. The Government denied suggestions that key officials in the Department of Energy and Climate Change, with detailed knowledge of the gas market, were not properly consulted over the measure in advance."

Andrew Grice: Osborne is aiming to reduce personal and business taxation before the next election and offer more tax cuts in the Tory manifesto - Independent

The 50p tax band "has restricted disposable income, lowered investment, smothered risk-taking and therefore either put or kept people out of jobs" - Simon Heffer in The Telegraph attacks George Osborne's "lily-livered" Budget.

Both ICM and YouGov have Tories on 37% after Budget - UK Polling Report

John Redwood's eight extra spending cuts

1. Early withdrawal of our trooops from Afghanistan;
2. Leaving enforcement of the UN resolution in Libya to the Arab League and the NATO neighbours of Libya;
3. Not replacing so many Whitehall back office staff as they leave service
4. Not spending any money on the  HS2 train proposal this Parliament;
5. Declining to pay for increases in the EU budget;
6. Cutting out overseas aid to nuclear weapons countries;
7. Voting against any bails out to Euro members;
8. Lowering the rate of price inflation by a better monetary policy to control the costs of inflation proofing.

Mr Redwood lists these cuts on his blog.

Chris Huhne branded a hypocrite after blaming 'Tory cuts' for closure of children's centres in his constituency - Daily Mail

IPSA reforms fail to satisfy every Tory MP and some direct their anger at Cameron

"Mark Pritchard, a backbencher and member of the influential 1922 committee, came to Mr Cameron’s defence, saying Ipsa’s “mixed bag of changes” could not be laid solely at the party leader’s feet. “The prime minister is running the country – not Ipsa. I suspect the former is a 24-hour job so unhappy MPs need to cut him some slack.” - FT (£)

Mail leader: "WITH inflation surging and families tightening their belts, expenses watchdog IPSA considers it an apposite time to award MPs an extra £3million in allowances. Predictably most MPs, who have spent the last year whining about the injustice of the expenses crackdown, are delighted. Truly, has there ever been a political class more detached from the public?"

Paul Goodman reflected on IPSA for Comment is free yesterday: "The Prime Minister is caught between voters – who want receipts and tough conditions – and MPs who want allowances and less constriction. With local elections and the alternative vote referendum looming – not to mention war in Libya and turmoil in Portugal – the latter will probably keep their complaints to themselves for the time being. But for Cameron, this looks like trouble postponed."

Scottish Tories in turmoil after top candidate sacked - Telegraph

Shaky start for Conservatives - Scotsman leader

David Cameron must defeat AV — or face truly terrible consequences - Iain Martin in the Daily Mail

Newslinks for Friday 25th March 2011

5.30pm WATCH: Cameron: The EU now supports military action in Libya

3.15pm Local Government:

• Alex Thomson reports Survey shows overwhelming support for local Business Rates retention
• Council byelections from yesterday

2.30pm Bill Cash MP on Comment: Why does Robert Peston think that the British contribution to the potential Portuguese bailout will be “close to zero”?

12.45pm Gazette: Neil Murray, the husband of Sheryll Murray MP, dies in a fishing accident

11.45am: Local Government: Sefton Labour councillor paid £54,000 a year to chair Transport board

11.30am Gazette: Conservative Christian Fellowship appoints new Director to replace Lady Berridge

9.30am Local Government: Pothole repair funding level for each council

ToryDiary: As each new Euro crisis breaks, it's becoming harder for Cameron to claim business as usual

Comment: Francis Hoar: We must stop treating children like adults

Local Government:

• Local elections 2011: The battle for Epsom & Ewell
• Labour councillor defects to Lib Dems

Parliament: Budget debate, day two

Gazette: Memorial to Ian Gow unveiled in the House of Commons

WATCH: ‪Japan's nuclear fears start to fade‬ 

The critics make their voices heard the day after the budget - especially on the NHS...

"George Osborne's deficit-cutting strategy is at risk of being blown off course by rising prices and slower growth, the Institute for Fiscal Studies has warned, threatening the coalition's pledge to raise NHS spending every year.  In its analysis of the budget, the independent thinktank also estimated that the average household would lose £750 this year as a result of higher taxes and benefit cuts implemented by the chancellor since coming to power." - The Guardian

"David Cameron was accused yesterday of breaching his flagship promise to raise spending on the NHS as critics seized on the small print of Wednesday's Budget.  George Osborne was forced on to the defensive over several measures in his package as Labour claimed it was unravelling. Although he won some favourable headlines by announcing plans to halt spiralling fuel prices, he suffered a bout of "Day 2 Budget blues" yesterday as analysts, pressure groups and the Opposition pored over his Budget documents." - The Independent

"Gemma Tetlow, senior research economist at the IFS, said that the worsening economic outlook meant that the health service appeared to be heading for a real-terms spending freeze over the next four years, representing the tightest settlement since the 1950s.  “They perhaps look on course to meet the pledge but they are sailing extremely close to the wind,” she said..Andrew Lansley, the Health Secretary, yesterday reiterated the Government’s promise to protect the budget.” - The Times (£)

"Scottish politicians accused George Osborne of using North Sea resources to “fuel his Budget”, saying the chancellor had given too little in return for his unexpected £2bn tax raid on the oil and gas industry.  “With record North Sea revenues of £13.4bn this coming [fiscal] year – over £4bn more than expected and double last year’s figure – it is abundantly clear that Scottish resources are bankrolling the chancellor’s Budget and the UK Treasury,” said John Swinney, Scotland’s finance secretary." - Financial Times (£)

Greedy fuels - The Sun 

...But a poll gives the Conservatives a post-budget bounce

"A YouGov poll for The Sun found 38 per cent of voters now trust the Coalition on the economy, compared to 36 per cent before George Osborne's speech.  Labour's rating has slumped from 29 to 24 per cent.  The gap between the two main parties has also narrowed to just four points, with Labour on 41 and the Tories on 37.  The Chancellor's personal rating went up too - 34 per cent now say he's doing a good job, compared to 27 per cent before the Budget." - The Sun 

...and WPP is to return to Britain

"WPP the marketing group, has signalled that it will move its tax base back to the UK in a high-profile endorsement of George Osborne’s corporate tax reforms, although other companies that have emigrated from Britain are still considering their options or have decided to stay put.  Mr Osborne on Wednesday unveiled an “ultra-competitive” 5.75 per cent rate on overseas financing income as part of reforms aimed at making Britain “the place international businesses go to, not the place they leave”. - Financial Times (£) 

Osborne examines scrapping the 50p rate in two years time

"George Osborne is looking at scrapping the 50p top rate of tax in his 2013 Budget, as evidence mounted on Thursday that individuals are going to great lengths to avoid the levy, undermining revenues for the exchequer.  The Office for Budget Responsibility said it had assumed £2bn of tax revenues for the 2009-10 tax year would not be collected in 2010-11 because of evidence that companies had paid bonuses just before the 50p rate was introduced and business owners paid themselves large dividends to avoid the tax." - Financial Times (£)

Post-budget comment -

The Bank of England is therefore confronted by a fearsome dilemma…But the longer we delay tackling inflation, the more it will weaken our longer-term prospects and undermine the Chancellor's deficit reduction strategy. Just as pertinently, the MPC cannot ignore its remit indefinitely or its credibility will be badly compromised. It must start the painful process of restoring sound money soon." - Daily Telegraph Editorial

• Osborne's budget speech was like a Brown tribute album - Martin Kettle, The Guardian
• Not the devil's Budget, but a necessary evil - Jeff Randall, Daily Telegraph

> Yesterday -

ToryDiary:

• Rating the Budget by the Thatcher, Tebbit, Lawson, Merkel and Reagan standards
• A budget reason to thank the Chancellor on the 50p rate

Local Government: A good Budget for Boris

Parliament:

• Backbench Conservative heavyweights line up to back the budget
• Five ways of supporting the Government during a budget debate

WATCH: George Osborne: WPP's post-budget announcement is a great sign

Nick agrees with Dave

"Nick Clegg has accidentally revealed how George Osborne’s second Budget has had a remarkably unifying effect on the coalition, while Labour has stepped up attacks on the chancellor for sticking doggedly to his Plan A.  Mr Clegg, deputy prime minister, was captured on microphone admitting that if he and David Cameron continued to agree so wholeheartedly “we won’t find anything to bloody disagree on in the bloody TV debates”." - Financial Times (£)

>Yesterday WATCH: Clegg overheard to Cameron: "If we keep doing this we won't find anything to bloody disagree on in the bloody TV debate"

Cameron caught by Portugal bailout crisis

"David Cameron was urged by furious Conservative MPs yesterday to refuse to give any British money towards a bailout of Portugal after forecasts that it could cost €4.5 billion (£3.96 billion).  Downing Street conceded that the Government was committed to the European Union’s current rescue mechanism and argued that it was powerless to prevent the huge call on Treasury funds…“We are stuck with it,” said a spokeswoman for the Prime Minister." - The Times (£)

"And yet on the very day that George Osborne was making clear in the Budget how difficult things are for us it was starting to look inevitable that the European Union will force us to hand over billions of pounds to Portugal.  So while one hand is cutting billions of pounds to try to balance the books the other is preparing to hand over up to £6billion to bail out the Portuguese economy. That is not just daft it is an outrage." - Daily Express Editorial

"If we still had a veto, we could have insisted on drastically shrinking Portugal’s profligate public sector, and reviewing its disastrous membership of the euro. But at least we can take comfort in the knowledge that because we have taken our spending medicine at home, and we never joined the single currency, Britain now enjoys the same interest rates as Germany despite having larger debts than Spain, Portugal or Greece." - Daily Mail Editorial

"The scary truth is that the scale of the problem facing the eurozone has been gravely underestimated by British commentators. The reasons are shaming. One significant factor is the financial and economic illiteracy of political journalists and foreign correspondents. Too many are ill-equipped to look behind the bland statements made by European chancellors or to interpret the deliberately misleading balance sheets of major European banks." - Peter Oborne, Daily Telegraph

• Britain's share of the Portuguese bail-out could wipe out half of all the government's spending cuts - Daniel Hannan's Blog, Daily Telegraph
• Portugal, bail outs and the Euro - John Redwood's Blog

>Yesterday -

• Comment - Bill Cash MP: Throwing down the gauntlet to the Prime Minister on the Portugese bailout
• ThinkTankCentral: Open Europe says that Britain could pay over four billion Euros to help bail out Portugal

NATO to take command of Libya operation

"During a teleconference with Hillary Clinton and the French and Turkish foreign ministers on Thursday afternoon, William Hague reminded Nato allies why military operations had been launched against Libya.  "The case for this action remains utterly compelling, appalling violence against Libyan citizens continues to take place exposing the regime's claims to have ordered a ceasefire to be an utter sham," he said." - Daily Telegraph

350 British special forces already deep inside Libya - Daily Mail

"The new resolution expressly says that all necessary measures can be used, "notwithstanding" the arms embargo referred to in the original. That must mean that arms supplies can be provided to the insurgents if necessary to protect "civilian populated areas".  I know that we cannot be certain of the political respectability of all those who might be armed…But the overriding need is for Gaddafi to go and this will not happen without the insurgents having the kinds of tanks, artillery and missiles that are being used against them by Gaddafi." - Sir Malcolm Rifkind, The Daily Telegraph

• Why the military is right to fret over Libya - Max Hastings, Financial Times (£)
• Obama, where art thou? - Times Editorial (£)

Hague warns British nationals to flee the Yemen

"British nationals in Yemen have been urged to leave "without delay". William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, warned that their safety could no longer be guaranteed and said plans for a military evacuation had been prepared. His announcement came as opposition leaders in Yemen rejected an offer from the embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down at the end of the year, insisting he leaves office immediately." - The Independent

Other Coalition and Political news

• NAO sees risks in Maude’s efficiency drive - Financial Times (£)
• Gove recruits head of Blair's Policy Unit - John Rentoul's blog, The Independent
• First interview with Jeremy Heywood, Permanent Secretary at Downing Street - BBC
• Last ditch plea for Kelly inquest - Press Association
• Dover votes to take over port - Politics Home

IPSA relaxes MP expenses rules

"In a major victory for politicians, the parliamentary standards watchdog last night unveiled a swathe of concessions to the stricter regime imposed after the 2009 expenses scandal.  The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority will allow 31 more MPs with seats outside London to claim for second homes, following claims from some that they were being forced to sleep in their offices if they missed the last train home." - Daily Mail

"MPs will be given an extra £5,500 towards the cost of running their offices each year as part of a series of concessions by the watchdog overseeing the new expenses system.  The bill could rise by more than £3 million, with extra money also provided for some accommodation and travel costs, under a loosening of the rules by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa).  Ipsa has even floated the possibility of a return to the controversial system of “allowances”, under which MPs would be handed a lump sum." - The Times (£)

Disgraced Conservative MEP faces criminal charges - Daily Telegraph

Miliband prepares to front "fight the cuts" rally

"Labour MPs will come out in force for Saturday’s anti-cuts rally with most of the shadow cabinet, including leader Ed Miliband, joining the union-led event.  Mr Miliband will be the keynote speaker on Saturday morning at the “March for the Alternative: Jobs, Growth, Justice” event in central London, which is expected to be the biggest protest in the capital since the anti-war rally of 2003.  Most of his front bench will attend, as well as scores of backbench Labour MPs." - Financial Times (£)

• No to the cuts! Yes to pointless posturing! - Philip Collins, The Times (£)
• Is public anger finally going to erupt? - Mary Dejevsky, The Independent
• Britain has long been a poor venue for protest: Saturday won't change this - Simon Jenkins, The GuardianC

And finally...MPs to tweet from Commons Chamber

"MPs have been given the green light to take iPads and Blackberrys into the Commons chamber to 'tweet' comments during debates.  An official standards committee said today that MPs would no longer be barred from updating the micro-blogging site 'Twitter' while they are supposed to be listening to speeches in Parliament.  They have been told they will be allowed to use smartphones in the Chamber – so long as they are on silent, and as long as they do so 'with decorum and regard for others'." - Daily Mail

Newslinks for Thursday 24th March 2011

6.45pm WATCH: Clegg overheard to Cameron: "If we keep doing this we won't find anything to bloody disagree on in the bloody TV debate"

6pm Parliament: Five ways of supporting the Government during a budget debate

3.15pm WATCH: Extraordinary confrontation on Pakistani TV channel as actress defies cleric

1.30pm Bill Cash MP on Comment: Throwing down the gauntlet to the Prime Minister on the Portugese bailout

12pm WATCH George Osborne: WPP's post-budget announcement is a great sign

11pm ThinkTankCentral: Open Europe says that Britain could pay over four billion Euros to help bail out Portugal

ToryDiary: Rating the Budget by the Thatcher, Tebbit, Lawson, Merkel and Reagan standards

Also on ToryDiary: A budget reason to thank the Chancellor on the 50p rate

In Comment:

• Nigel Jones: Who are the best Prime Ministers we never had?
• Peter Cuthbertson: How would the 1990s have been different if Thatcherism had continued under a Tebbit premiership?

Local Government:

• A good Budget for Boris
• Planning changes to promote growth

Parliament: Backbench Conservative heavyweights line up to back the budget

Seats and Candidates: By-election candidate shortlist announced for Leicester South, where voters will have four votes on May 5th

WATCH: Boris Johnson: The budget has gone for growth

Budget proves that Osborne's not for turning and has no reverse gear

"George Osborne put himself on the side of struggling middle earners yesterday as he unveiled petrol and income tax cuts.  The Chancellor said his second Budget was designed to ‘put fuel in the tank’ of the backfiring British economy.  But with weaker than expected economic growth, it was becoming clear last night that there were some nasty surprises lurking under the bonnet." - Daily Mail

"George Osborne has ignored the warning lights flashing in the British economy delivering a Budget that stuck defiantly to his plan to cut public sector borrowing and fuel private sector growth. “Britain has a plan and we are sticking to it,” he said. In spite of rising inflation, lower short-term growth and higher medium-term borrowing, Mr Osborne said his plan to cut the deficit was on track and was essential for realising his ambition of turning Britain into Europe’s top business location." - Financial Times (£)

George Osborne's Budget answered The Sun's demand to give motorists a break - with bold moves to bring tax relief at the pumps.  He said last night: "I couldn't let Sun readers down - I hope it helps."  The Chancellor chopped an immediate penny off fuel duty from 6pm last night. He scrapped an inflation-linked 5p price hike due on April 1.  He tore up Labour's hated fuel tax escalator - which would have led to annual rises at the rate of inflation plus 1p." - The Sun

"George Osborne has bowed to growing concern over the biggest squeeze in living standards since the second world war with an instant cut in fuel duty, but had his claim to be delivering a budget for growth undermined by the ominous prospect of lower growth, rising unemployment and higher borrowing…he was forced to admit that growth this year would be just 1.7% – lower than the 2.1% expected – while 200,000 fewer jobs would be created during this parliament." - The Guardian

What the budget means for you - Financial Times (£) 

Osborne gets the backing he wanted as The Mail and Telegraph join the Murdoch papers in supporting the budget

"This Budget was anyway intended to serve a political purpose; to shift the focus away from current austerity to future prosperity…This newspaper has criticised Mr Osborne for not coming forward with a contingency plan were growth to slide further. While he did not do so in his speech, he did show a degree of flexibility. The path of deficit reduction will be slightly less steep, partly because of higher inflation and partly because of the dismal winter, that has left the economy at a lower level than anticipated last summer." - Financial Times (£)

"It left him with a more limited canvas on which to work, yet he used it well. His assessment of the state of the economy was both lucid and frank – a refreshing change from the smoke-and-mirrors approach of the last regime. And crucially, Mr Osborne succeeded in shifting the economic debate away from the talk of austerity and cuts that have dominated for the past three years and focused it instead on how best to secure our future prosperity." - Daily Telegraph Editorial

"There will be no dancing in the streets to celebrate this Budget. It won’t deliver an instant upswing or banish families’ worries about ever-growing bills. Indeed, its most worrying aspect is that growth forecasts have had to be downgraded.  Nevertheless, it contains much that is welcome, while almost every measure points in the right direction. To be fair to George Osborne, isn’t that as much as we could expect in these terrible times?" - Daily Mail

"For a Budget that threatened to deliver little, it delivered a lot…A welcome victory for The Sun's campaign to tackle fuel prices.  And another victory for our crusade to put jobs and growth at the heart of economic policy.  Chancellor George Osborne showed boldness and imagination in playing a poor hand very skilfully.  Crucially, he has thrown open Britain's door to the world as a competitive place to do business." - The Sun

"In all, from the higher reaches of its tone to the small print of its content, this was a Budget that seemed expressly designed not to rock any more boats or frighten any more horses, but to foster an air of stability – in sharp contrast to the rough austerity message that permeated last summer's emergency Budget. It was, Mr Osborne said, fiscally neutral, and from the outset he was careful to make clear that he understood, even if he could not personally feel, ordinary households' pain." - The Independent

"Given the parlous state of the national finances bequeathed to him by his Labour predecessors he did all that could reasonably be expected to protect the living standards of hardworking families. Many voters may have hoped for more dramatic tax cuts but the fairminded among them will have noted that the Chancellor’s heart is in the right place on this vital issue and have resolved to give him another year or two to come up with further instalments." - Daily Express

"Overall, the Chancellor did well yesterday. It was a considerable achievement to be able to advance a proper, serious growth policy, to reform pensions, to tackle burdensome regulations, yet still find money to address the rising cost of living. Mr Osborne has emerged, in office, as one of the big beasts in the Government. But he will need all his strength in the years to come." - The Times (£)  

...As the sun as well as the Sun shines for the Chancellor

"Sunny smiles spread across the country yesterday as spring finally sprang into action.  Temperatures of more than 64f (17.8c) left Greece and Malaga in the shade with Britain’s hottest day of the year so far.  And the warm welcome is expected to continue until the weekend.  Today we are in for another warm day with a high of 62.6f (17c), with the same predicted for tomorrow." - Daily Mail 

The Commentators' view

"What on earth did you expect?  I don’t want to be a bore about this, but there is no money. Most voters — fairly resigned and pessimistic about politics and government anyway — understand this. But the extent to which the political world breathlessly awaits the Budget, as if it might tell us something different, is a constant surprise to me…A fiscally neutral Budget can’t really do much to help living standards." - Daniel Finkelstein, The Times (£)

"He has been likened to a submarine. Occasionally we see him in public for an important set-piece event but his most important work is beneath the surface. In economic strategy his inspiration is the German leader, Angela Merkel. If Labour built the economy on a bubble of debt, Osborne wants to rebuild Britain on German rock.  He’s a tax cutter but he’s more interested, like Frau Merkel, in paying national debts." - Tim Montgomerie, Daily Mail

"Yet the growth forecasts look too optimistic for such an uncertain world, and on Saturday London will be packed with public sector workers who think the Government is wavering in the face of political pressure at home and crisis abroad. He must prove them wrong.  Yesterday he produced his best shot, an all-or-nothing attempt to get Britain going again that would in turn justify asking for a proper mandate at the next election. But Mr Osborne is no nearer to producing the Tory majority in 2015 that he dreams of." - Benedict Brogan, Daily Telegraph

"The chancellor had not a lot to say and an hour to fill in saying it.Mr Osborne, a smart politician, knows that it is too early to tell whether history will judge last year’s spending and borrowing cuts as courageous or reckless. Either way, he is not about to change course. This government has an economic plan, he declared at the very outset of his speech, and “we are sticking to it”. There really isn’t a Plan B." - Philip Stephens, Financial Times (£)

"In urgent practical and political need for a narrative that goes beyond the looming cuts, the Budget was presented as one for growth. In case there was any doubt, a dense and worthy document was produced in addition to the normal Budget papers that focused solely on this more uplifting theme.  Indeed, with premature chutzpah, Osborne claimed that he had already rescued Britain's economy, and now it was time to move on to recovery." - Steve Richards, The Independent

"The chancellor has adhered to one budget maxim: giving the arts what they want yields the biggest political bang for the smallest buck. He had been lobbied intensely to make some amends for cuts in the direct arts budget. The cry was to get the rich to replace what the taxpayer had withdrawn. George Osborne has clearly listened…Freeing smaller charities of the absurd red tape surrounding "gift aid" is long overdue and one wonders why Labour never thought of such simple aids." - Simon Jenkins, The Guardian

"But there are also a few bits of rather unseemly pork barrel politics. Nick Clegg’s Sheffield gets an enterprise zone, which is probably fair enough. But we are also told that ‘following a thorough review, the government is approving the revised Sheffield retail quarter regeneration scheme.’  The south west, which has a disproportionately large number of Lib Dem seats, gets help to keep water bills down." - James Forsyth, The Spectator

• Osborne makes the best of a bad hand - Martin Wolf, Financial Times (£)
• The speech Mr Osborne should have made - Iain Martin, Daily Mail
• Osborne impresses with his vision thing - Richard Lambert, The Times (£)
• George Osborne wasn't allowed to give us the Budget we really needed - Jeremy Warner, Daily Telegraph
• A family-friendly budget? - Madeleine Bunting, The Guardian
• Debt will still rise but this modest and steady Budget rightly stuck to the plan - Harry Phibbs, Daily Mail
• As the Irish say, George, don't start from here - Johann Hari, The Independent

Osborne moves early to show that richer people are shouldering their share of the burden...

"Taking into account all the tax and benefit changes that the coalition government inherited from the previous Labour government and the new ones that it announced before the budget, the overall package looked broadly regressive. The new tax measures announced on Wednesday will have changed this picture somewhat. Particular winners were motorists and most income tax payers." - Gemma Tetlow of the Institute for Fiscal Studies in the Guardian

"On the Treasury's calculations, the poorest fifth of households will find themselves 4% worse off by 2014-15, while the richest fifth will lose just over 5% of their disposable income. In other words, despite yesterday's efforts to sweeten the pill, everyone's a loser." - The Guardian 

...As Pickles prepares to announce council tax cuts

"Council tax is to be frozen or reduced in every local authority area in England this year, Communities Secretary Eric Pickles announced today.  That will make it the first year since the tax was introduced in 1993 that it has not risen.  The freeze was funded by £650million provided by Mr Pickles' Department for Communities and Local Government to support councils which opted not to increase their bills." - Daily Mail

Miliband says Osborne must change course

"Dismissing Mr Osborne's economic plans, he said growth figures showed the Chancellor's strategy was failing and called on him to change course.  Drawing on the Chancellor's stated aspiration of wanting to be a blend of 1980s Conservative heavyweights Nigel Lawson and Michael Heseltine, Mr Miliband instead compared Mr Osborne to a predecessor from the Tory government of the early Nineties." - Daily Telegraph

…And finally (on the budget): Yes, Clarke was asleep, says Ladbrokes - and pays out

"The government has denied a Labour accusation that Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke "fell asleep" while George Osborne delivered his Budget.  Party leader Ed Miliband made the claim during exchanges in the House of Commons, joking that Mr Osborne's statement must have been "compelling".  But Mr Clarke's spokesman later said: "Of course he didn't fall asleep".  However, bookmaker Ladbrokes said it had paid a "four-figure sum" to a punter who bet on such an eventuality." - BBC

"Mr Clarke was bookended between colleagues, so there was no danger of him toppling to the floor. Away he floated like a customer at Dignitas." - Quentin Letts, Daily Mail

6.30pm WATCH: Did Ken Clarke have a nap during the Budget?

Yesterday's ConservativeHome budget coverage -

ToryDiary:

• Wealthier households will pay most to clear up Labour's deficit
• Cameron warned to keep his focus on the economy
• CCHQ launches post-Budget campaign leaflets aimed at families and pensioners
• Today's PMQs was barely even a warm-up for the main event

Comment:

• Jesse Norman: This Budget is an important move towards Real Capitalism
• Nick Wood on Comment: There was never going to be a quick fix to Labour's economic mismanagement - and all Tories must now be braced to ride the coming storm
• Andrew Lilico: A healthily underwhelming Budget - but one that the financial markets should like
• Howard Flight: A budget that was much as expected
• David T.Breaker: An acceptable but dull budget that's probably marginally good for us

Comment preview:

• Charlie Elphicke MP: The Budget cannot be too pro-business
• Lord Flight: The Budget needs to make Britain more tax competitive and attractive for inward investment
• Jill Kirby: George Osborne needs to think of families as engines of growth
• Andrew Lilico: It's time to introduce that fuel duty stabiliser
• Matthew Sinclair: George Osborne should scrap the 50p tax rate and ease the burden on ordinary taxpayers
• Nick Wood: Radical steps and a cultural shift are needed to break the country's addiction to public spending
• Jill Kirby on Comment: Today's Budget contained rather too many shades of Brown
• Matthew Sinclair on Comment: There was plenty to welcome in the Budget - but it is being paid for in some ugly way
• Charlie Elphicke MP on Comment: This was a pro-jobs, pro-business Budget which exceeded its billing

LISTEN: The BBC's Stephanie Flanders, Robert Peston and Nick Robinson preview the Budget

ROLLING BLOG OF REACTION TO THE BUDGET

ROLLING BLOG OF BUDGET ANNOUNCEMENTS

ROLLING BLOG OF BUDGET ARGUMENTS

WATCH

• George Osborne shows off his new Budget box
• All the key announcements from the Chancellor's statement

Other Political News

Nick Clegg set to rein in NHS reforms...

"Nick Clegg told a meeting of his MPs in Westminster on Tuesday that he would now be "taking the lead" within government to rein in its programme of reform for the NHS.  The Liberal Democrat leader said he was determined to ensure changes were made to the health and social care bill, the clearest sign that he will personally negotiate with the health secretary, Andrew Lansley. A senior party source said that the Lib Dem leader had decided to "front up" the issue with the Conservatives." - The Guardian

...As he claims win over May on immigration

"Nick Clegg and Theresa May were embroiled in an astonishing war of words last night over visas for foreign students.  The Deputy PM and the Home Secretary BOTH claimed victory as she unveiled the clampdown.  Mrs May said she would cut the number of visas available to non-EU students by 100,000. Mr Clegg had argued against the move.  But plans to stop foreign graduates staying on to work were dumped - in what the Deputy PM said was a win for him and Business Secretary Vince Cable." - The Sun

• Libyan expats plot revenge terror attacks on UK streets over Gaddafi bombing raids - Daily Mail
• Yard officer to face hacking quiz - Press Association
• Sócrates quits as Portuguese PM - Financial Times (£)
• Protest Fears Force UK Staff Out Of Yemen - Sky News
• Syrian security forces open fire on mourners - The Times (£)

Lord Palmerston proves an inspiration for David Cameron

"Of course, he was moved by the television footage of Libyan irregulars ready to take on tanks: ready indeed to die, if that would help their children to lead decent lives. But he acted in the national interest. If Gaddafi prevailed, instability would spread throughout the region. The Arab spring could quickly turn into bleak midwinter. If hope died, terrorists would flourish. A mad dog state on the Mediterranean littoral would be a threat to the West’s security." - Bruce Anderson, Daily Telegraph

Other Comment -

• A family slaughtered in Israel – doesn't the BBC care? - Louise Bagshawe MP, Daily Telegraph
• The Tories are squandering our billions on foreign aid that in reality betrays the countries it's meant to help - Stephen Glover, Daily Mail
• Not even the humanitarian urge can be a basis for war - Andreas Whittam Smith, The Independent